On August 30, The Clipper Round The World Yacht Race starts off from St Katharine's Dock in London England. 12 fully crewed Clipper 70s will be sparing their way around the world over 8 legs and 11 months while reaching speeds of up to 30 knots. The 8 leg stopovers will include London, Rio, Cape Town, Albany, Sydney, Hobart, Da Nang, Qingdao, Seattle, Panama Canal, New York, Derry, Den Helder, and finally home to London. At 40,000nm, it is the longest ocean yacht race in existence.  Sounds like most round the world yacht races doesn't it? Well, this one is a little different. 

These boats will be crewed by amateur sailors, many of them having never sailed a boat in their lives before signing up. Their ages range from 19 to 74 and their talents range from CEOs of international corporations to the local barber who has been cutting your hair for the last twenty years. For them this is a lifelong dream being realized. They are going to experience an amazing adventure, triumph over adversity, and build friendships that will last forever. Don't worry though... they aren't alone out there.  Each yacht has a professional Skipper on board and they have been training their crew for a while now.

We are excited and happy to announce that Jim McGuinness has joined ABYC with his recently puchased J80, Quicker.

J80s are smaller in size but bigger in excitement, with a retractable sprit and asymmetrical chute easily managed by skipper and three crew. They've been around for a while but the interest in Toronto has been growing, as larger crews become less manageable and larger sails more expensive. Five raced one-design at the RCYC open, nine competed at LYRA a few weeks ago, and the 2016 North Americans will be in Toronto.